Golfer&#39;s stance-positioning shoes with means to avoid vertical lift and lateral shift upon taking a stance for play



1960 J. H. SCHLESINGER 2,959,873

GOLFER'S STANCE-POSITIONING SHOES WITH MEANS TO AVOID VERTICAL LIFT AND LATERAL sun"? UPON TAKING A STANCE FOR PLAY Filed Feb. 10. 1959 INVENTOR.

JOSEPH H-SCHLESINGER, BY

ATTORNEY.

r 2,959,873 1 Patented Nov; 15, 1960- GOLFERS STANCE-POSITIONING SHOES WITH MEANS TO AVOID VERTICAL LIFT AND LATERAL SHIFT UPON TAKING A STANCE FOR PLAY Joseph H. Schlesinger, New York, N.Y., assignor to Eagle Chemical Co., New York, NY.

Filed Febt-lll, 1959, Ser. No. 792,286

1 Claim. (CI; 36-25) The presentinvention relates to shoes for golfers and more particularly to improvements applicable for example in the golfers'shoes set forth in my Patent No. 2,855,704, issued October 14, 1958.

Saidpatented shoes offer the golfer the means toobtain'a firm support for the correct foot position and control ofthe' golf swing when taking a stance for play. They automatically compel the attainment of such correct position. The respective constructions taught in said patent require various portions of the undersurfaces of the heel regions to be sloped so that in normal walking, such sloping surfaces of a pair of shoes are in upwardly convergent relation. Upon taking a stance for play, said sloping undersurfaces shift to contact the ground, thereby automatically compelling the player into correct position. For a full explanation of this, reference is had to the specification of said patent, and various details of structure will again be set forth herein as may be necessary to explain the present invention.

Though my said patented shoes compel the correct position and relative angular relations of the femurs and fibulas of the player and effect a firm footing when the stance is taken for play, the player needs to apply forces downwardly through his legs to maintain an unswerving position of his feet on the ground. This means that his body must exert forces in addition to those required for the actual swing of the golf club, in order to maintain the firm placement of the feet of his legs, though the other parts of his legs have relative movement during the swinging of the club. I have suggested downwardly extending spikes from the undersurfaces of these patented shoes, but I find that the spikes being perpendicular to the undersurface from which they extend, hold the shoes from lateral movement but not from upward movement when the spikes are sunk into the turf and the sloping undersurfaces of the shoes are in contact with the ground. This affords only a sort of physical anchorage which is partial, since the shoe is free to lift.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide spikes which are so mounted to the sloping undersurfaces of said shoes, that in addition to their avoidance of lateral movement, there is also avoided any upward lift in playing position, whereupon the shoes set properly at stance of the player, will attain what substantially is practically a complete physical anchorage to the ground. This affords that the greatest possible portion of the forces the player is called upon to exert, is applied to the swing of the golf club so that the player is called upon for very little effort to maintain firm anchorage of his feet to the ground, since the spikes as I employ them in accordance with this invention, serve to accomplish total anchorage of the players feet to the ground.

Heretofore, as mentioned, spikes extending from the sloping undersurface of a shoe were perpendicular to such surface and hence when such surface contacted the ground and the spikes imbedded into the ground, such spikes though holding the shoe from lateral movement, the shoe was free for upward movement along the vertical. This upward vertical movement is what this invention avoids in playing position, thereby attaining a firm phy'sical an chorage of the shoe to the ground by avoiding shoe move: ment in any direction.

So for the practice of this invention,'the spikes are: mounted perpendicular to the inner floor surface of the shoe, onto that portion of those portions of the-shoes undersurface which slant upwardly from the ground when said inner floor surface is horizontal and the length of said spikes are preferably such that when the shoe is orr paved flat ground, said spikes touch the ground. Now; upon positioning the shoe so that the slant surface on surfaces thereof touch turf, the spikes extending down wardly from said slant surfaces will be imbedded i'n' the turf, not perpendicular to the surface of the ground, but: at a slant. When a player sets the shoes he wears into playing position so that the slant undersurfaces touch the turf, the spikes on one shoe will be in downwardly di vergent relation with respect to the spikes on the other shoe. The weight of the player and the forces be applies downwardly through his legs and the heel regions of the shoes, will tamp and pack the turf tightly-around. the spikes and the shoes will thereby" be firmly'physically" anchored'to the ground; the sets of spikes of both shoes forming together a sort of dove-tail joint formation with the ground, holding the shoes from both any lateral movement or vertical lift when in playing position.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Fig. 1 shows the outer side of the left shoe in walking position on the ground. The bottom member of this shoe and that of its mate, including the teachings of this invention. The shoe shown is heel-less.

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the shoe of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows the inner side of the shoe of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section taken at lines 4-4 in Fig, 3.

Fig. 5 shows the underside of the sole of said left shoe.

Fig. 6 is similar to Fig. 5, but of slightly modified form as described in the aforementioned patent.

Figs. 7 and 8 are rear views of a pair of shoes of the type shown in Fig. l, in playing position, where the heel regions are rested on the ground. When the shoes are in walking position, the undersides of said heel regions are in upwardly convergent relation.

Fig. 9 is the rear view of a left shoe embodying this invention. Its construction is like that of Fig, 2, but here in Fig. 9, the shoe shown has a heel.

Fig. 10 shows the inner side of the shoe of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 shows the outer side of the shoe of Fig. 9.

In the drawing showing various preferred embodiments of my present invention, in all the shoe structures shown, the top surface 15 of the bottom member is horizontal transversely thereof when the shoe is in normal upright position as shown in Figs. 1-4 and 9-11. The heel regions undersurfaces 16 and 17 respectively, slope downwardly from the inner lateral edge towards the outer lateral edge thereof and such sloping undersurfaces are off the ground when each shoe is in normal upright position; said shoes being tiltable from normal upright position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 7, wherein the sloping undersurface 16 contacts the ground, or the sloping undersurface 17 touches the ground, as the case may be. Hence, in playing position, the pair of shoes assume the position as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

In the preferred embodiments illustrated, I provide the heel region of each shoe along its inner lateral edge with spikes 19, which extend from the sloping surfaces 16, 17 respectively, downwardly to the ground when the shoe is in normal upright position. Each spike is in acute angular relation with that portion of the sloping undersurface which extends from the spike to the outer lateral edge of such undersurface, so that when the player takes his stance for play and the shoes are brought to rest with their sloping undersurfaces of the heel regions on the turf, the spikes on the pair of shoes will become imbedded in the ground and the position of the spikes on one shoe will be in downward convergent relation to the spikes on its mate, as shown in the combined Figs. 7 and 8.

Of importance to note is that the shoes equipped with spikes in the manner herein taught, when set into playing position, are maintained against lateral and upward movements by physical anchorage. Less force need be exerted by the player to hold the shoes firmly to the ground and he has therefore available the greater force to go to the swing of the golf club.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiments shown herein be deemed merely illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claim rather than to specific description and showing herein to illustrate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

In a shoe, a bottom member for aiding a golfer to assume the correct foot position for play; the top surface of said bottom member being horizontal transversely thereof when the shoe is in normal upright position; the undersurface of the heel region of the bottom member sloping downwardly from the inner lateral edge towards the outer lateral edge thereof with the sloping undersurface being otf the ground when the shoe is in normal upright position; said shoe being tiltable from normal upright position to a position wherein the sloping undersurface contacts the ground and spikes extending downwardly from said sloping undersurface; each spike being in acute angular relation with that portion of the sloping undersurface which extends from the spike to the outer lateral edge of the undersurface; said spikes being adjacent the inner lateral edge of the heel region and in spaced relation therealong.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,078,626 Bauer Apr. 27, 1937 2,179,942 Lyue Nov. 14, 1939 2,315,874 Sabel et a1. Apr. 6, 1943 2,416,526 Koenig Feb. 25, 1947 2,855,704 Schlesinger Oct. 14, 1958 awg 

